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A week after a man flew four B-52 sorties over Hanoi, dropping a total of 48 bombs over an unknown number of homes, he holed up in an apartment in Boston with a fifth of Tennessee rye and a Smith & Wesson Model 15, and vowed, upon returning from a final walk in the rain, to "give myself the discharge I deserved." So he writes in a Boston Craigslist Missed Connection post, titled "I met you in the rain on the last day of 1972 - m4w," which Wired is calling the first Craigslist ad "to win a Pulitzer," and Adweek reports is "so beautiful, you don't care if it's true." The man goes on to describe the woman he met taking shelter under the awning of the Old State House, in a teal ball gown with "a galaxy of freckles" dusting her shoulders. "I'd never seen anything so beautiful."

After an hour-long chat at a nearby five and dime, she disappeared while he used the restroom—leaving him in a state of turmoil that overrode his desire to take his life. And though he is reaching out 43 years later, after the recent passing of both his wife and his son, he wants her to know this: "As I cast this virtual coin into the wishing well of the cosmos, it occurs to me, after a million what-ifs and a lifetime of lost sleep, that our connection wasn't missed at all.... Sometimes I can still smell the smoke over Hanoi. And then, a few dozen times a year, I'll receive a gift. The sky will glower, and the clouds will hide the sun, and the rain will begin to fall. And I'll remember." According to Reddit users, it did indeed rain in Boston on the last day of 1972. (Check out why this guy penned a missed connection.)

Nice story, but when reddit users are your source, it might hurt the story... I thought the one about the girl at the Buffalo bills game would win this award.

TaiFood

Oct 10, 2015 6:28 AM CDT

As much as I want to fully commit and believe this thinly veiled jab at our military I'd like to point out a few issues with this story since the actual pilot was supposed to have penned the Craigslist ad... First, the B-52 is a high altitude bomber with significantly more payload than 48 bombs in 4 sorties since each sortie could carry up to 106 bombs PER sortie: "...each B-52 used in Vietnam could carry eighty-four 500-pound bombs internally and twenty-four 750-pound bombs on underwing racks, for a 3,000-mile nonstop range...." http://www.vietnamwar.net/B-52bomber.htm Second, Can someone smell the smoke of the bombs or anti-aircraft artillery in a B-52 or more likely the tactical aircraft that one most likely thinks of when Vietnam bombing is visualized? "Sometimes I can still smell the smoke over Hanoi" watch 11:10 on the following Vietnam War - USAF Battle at Khe Sanh - B-52 Air Strikes - 1967 to 1968 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQjdNK6lhdM Third, nevermind I just found this site that all but debunks this love story http://www.bdcwire.com/separating-fact-from-fiction-in-bostons-most-beautiful-craigslist-missed-connection/ ...seems like this is a recurring ploy but a good distraction nonetheless.

Red_Ruffansore

Oct 6, 2015 11:28 AM CDT

My BS alarm didn't go off, it caught fire and burned. PT Barnum wrote "There is a sucker born every minute". Now that is the best ever.